Public Health England has warned that the cold weather could be dangerous for over-65s, people with heart or lung conditions, or the very young.

Dr Thomas Waite, of Public Health England’s extreme events team, said: “Check on friends, family and neighbours who may be at risk and make sure they’re heating homes to at least 18C, see if they need any particular help or just someone to talk to and keep an eye on the Met Office’s forecasts and warnings.”

The “beast from the east” is set to delay the start of spring, with the cold weather not expected to thaw until mid-March.

Met Office meteorologist Martin Bowles said spring had been "postponed" due to the chill arriving from the east just before March 1 - the first day of the meteorological spring.

Mr Bowles said: "Somewhere like the Scottish mountains might go lower than that, but that's actually quite normal in the Scottish mountains, whereas it's definitely not normal to have -5C in London at the end of February.

"We haven't had temperatures that low in late February since 2013. It's not unheard of. There are records that are lower than that."

He added: "But it is quite unusual, particularly as it's quite late in the season.

(Image: weather.com)

"We refer to March 1 as being the first day of spring and of course March 1 will be right in the middle of this cold spell, so spring will be postponed for a couple of weeks, shall we say."

The North Pole and Greenland have been 30C to 40C warmer than historic averages. Experts predict the Arctic could inch above freezing during the polar night for the first time in February since records began.

Rod Downie, head of polar programmes at World Wildlife Fund told the Standard : “The Arctic is in meltdown, and wild and weird weather is happening in front of our eyes.

“We need to take responsibility as evidence shows us that sea ice is in severe decline due to our changing climate."

Eleanor Bell, principal meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said it will begin to feel much colder over the next several days with temperatures tumbling as the 'Beast from the East' takes charge.

She said: "Temperatures are expected to fall well below normal widely across Europe through this week and continue into the beginning of March.

"High pressure centred over Scandinavia and northeast Europe will dominate the weather pattern, dragging in bitterly cold air from the east.

"It will feel much colder with a wind chill of -1 to -8C for Britain, -8 to -14C for central Europe but -15 to locally -30C for north-east and eastern Europe.

"According to forecasters, the coldest spell is currently expected between February 26 and March 4.

"Winds will generally be gentle or moderate, but they will be coming from a very cold source."

Cars on a snowy day. File picture.

Friday is set to be chilly with plenty of winter sunshine, turning colder by the weekend as the easterly winds strengthen.

By Saturday the UK will be colder than Iceland as high pressure anchored over Scandinavia drags freezing air westwards across Europe.

Meanwhile, night-time temperatures on Saturday and Sunday are predicted drop sharply under clear skies, leading to widespread hard frost and dangerous icy conditions for many.

Heading into next week there is a risk of snow for eastern areas as the biting winds pick up moisture while tracking across the North Sea.

The forecaster added that up to 2-5cm of snow is possible over parts of east and south-east England, with no thaw expected.

But at this stage, snow could fall almost anywhere in Britain.

Most forecasters call wind chill the "feels-like" temperature, which is when biting winds make the air feel much colder than the actual temperature forecast.

These cold conditions mean that although the air temperature on weather maps state thermometers will be, for example, around 5C, it will actually feel more like 2C.

This is because the wind strips away the thin layer of warm air hovering over the skin - the stronger the wind, the more heat is lost from the body, and so the colder it will feel.

The 'feels-like'; temperature is particularly important on a windy day due to the effect wind has on taking moisture from skin.

On a windy and rainy day where the skin is wet, there will be additional cooling due to the moisture evaporating.

This has the effect of moving heat away from the body and making the surrounding air feel cooler than it actually is.

The stronger the wind, the faster the cooling is. The lower the temperature, the more impact the wind has.

When the winds are light, it will feel closer to the actual air temperature.